IN AMERICA, GAMBLING on sport has long been frowned upon. Prohibitionists considered it an intolerable vice, like drinking alcohol, and outlawed it in the early 20th century. The “Black Sox” scandal of 1919—in which the Chicago White Sox deliberately lost baseball’s World Series after taking bribes—convinced most people that they were right. Over time, betting on sport gradually regained some respectability. Nevada legalised it in 1949, and a few others states permitted it at racetracks. But most maintained blanket bans. And in 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which in effect banning sports betting nationwide, except in Nevada and three other states.
Last year, however, the Supreme Court struck down this law, after the state of New Jersey argued that gambling was not mentioned in the constitution and should therefore fall under the purview of the states. The news was welcomed by the many Americans who occasionally indulge in an illegal flutter—including friendly office pools, dodgy local bookies or offshore websites. Casino operators could only rub their hands with delight. According to Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, a research firm, the size of the black market in America is about $50bn, ten times the size of the legal one.
Since then enthusiasm for the once-forbidden hobby has taken hold. Simon Holliday of H2 Gambling Capital (H2GC), a consultancy, notes that by March 2020 18 states (and the District of Columbia) will have sports-betting services in some form. Most others are considering legalisation (although Utah, whose lawmakers are largely Mormon, is not). H2GC reckons that Americans will stake more than $26bn on sports events in 2020, up from $5bn in 2017, the last full year before the Supreme Court ruling. If most states do end up legalising sports betting, the market could reach $60bn by 2025.
Backstreet bookies are rapidly losing business. But they are unlikely to vanish completely. America is one of the few rich countries that tax winnings from betting, which might encourage high-rollers to stick to the black market. Legal gambling outfits could also be barred from allowing bets on college sport in some states (supposedly to protect the integrity of those competitions). A century after the Black Sox scandal, another fix on the World Series seems unlikely. But the murky underworld of gambling will live on.
"sport" - Google News
December 29, 2019 at 07:00AM
https://ift.tt/357CvL0
As much as $26bn could be gambled on American sport in 2020 - The Economist
"sport" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2NRSXtD
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "As much as $26bn could be gambled on American sport in 2020 - The Economist"
Post a Comment